Harvested my first Purple Vienna Kohlrabi, well plus another small one that’s heart shaped. At the moment both are sitting in the fridge.

Also dug up 4 Purple Sweet Potatoes, another first. I noticed they were partially exposed so decided to bring them in before the critters discover them. They are curing now an should be ready for eating in 2 weeks.

Also in the above basket are 1 China Express Daikon and a few Red Noodles & Green Long Beans. These beans will most likely be the last harvest as I see no flowers on the vines.

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I am growing Win-Win Choy in 2 exact size (29 inches) window boxes. One has 6 plants the other has 12 plants.

In the photo below, the Win-Win Choy leaf on the left is from the box with only 6 plants. The leaf on the right is from the box with 12 plants.

Win-Win Choy

The size difference between the 2 leaves is quite striking.

Win-Win Choy

Decided to thin out the window box with the 12 Win-Win Choy.

Removed the outer leaves from the remaining 7 plants also. Be fun to see if these will grow as robust as the ones in the box of 6 plants.

All the above Win-Win Choy were processed and froze using the method mentioned in lastMondays post.

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Harvested another 6 Black Summer Pac Choi.

Black Summer Pac Choi

Separated most of the leaves for easy cleaning leaving just the few center leaves attached to a stub.

Peeled the stub to reveal my favorite part of the Pac Choi. That stub, when cooked, is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Would love a serving of just the peeled stubs, but can you imagine how many Pac Choi plants I would need to have just one serving of the stubs?

Steamed the heart of the Pac Choi (uncut, whole with stub) for 3-5 minutes, then drizzled with a bit of oyster sauce and sesame oil, was a real treat.

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First harvest of Lutz Beets and Leeks.

Lutz Beets

Lutz beets is one of my all time favorite. Easy to grow and good winter keepers. I plant them in the spring, harvest as need throughout the year (didn’t this year as I was also growing other varieties) and harvest remainder before the ground freezes. They can grow quite large without getting pithy.

I store the unwashed roots, covered with Pro-Mix in a container, in my garage and they last through the winter.

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The leeks are not as fat as last year’s and I think it has to do with the hot dry weather we have been experiencing.

King Richard Leeks

Check out the length of leek at the top!

Was visiting friends and knew they would appreciate goodies from my garden so brought them a basket of lutz beets, leeks and some other garden goodies.

Seedlings were bare roots and are looking a bit limp but should perk up in a day or 2.

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Do not want to think about it but winter is fast approaching. The leaves on my Katsura tree are starting to fall, signaling to me that it is time to start thinking about putting the garden to bed for the winter. Where did the year go?????

Wow – what a difference between the 6 plants and 12. I am slowly learning that giving plants a bit more room often pays off, as your experiment clearly demonstrated. Ah, I see you were also the recipient of some extra lettuce from the community garden – we will both be so grateful for these gifts as the weather gets colder and we pull fresh lettuce leaves from the garden.

Hello Margaret,
The problem is not that I don’t know better, I just cannot bear to throw away seedlings and promise myself to thin as as soon as crowding occurs but somehow never get around to doing so 😦

My leeks are skinny this year as well. They have not increased in size at all since mid-summer. i am sure that it is the heat and drought. I’m hoping that cooler, wetter weather in the fall will bulk them up.

I always enjoy your experiments and comparisons! Giving plants room to move is so important, though hard when we want to pack in as much as possible into a small space, ha? Such a great visual to remind us that *more doesn’t always mean better 🙂

I was just thinking about how quickly the year went by, it seems to go faster and faster each year! Your harvests look wonderful, sadly my lowly little fig has not progressed since our departure in early September, I doubt it will ripen on the vine before it gets too chilly and I have to put old Figgy to bed. Oscar has lost all his leaves, I wonder if it was too hot this year? I’ll try to revive him indoors over the winter.